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Beginner How-To Guide
Guide for Beginners * So, you’re a beginner and want to learn about Vana’diel, do you? Excellent! A willingness, if not an eagerness to learn, is required to succeed as an Adventurer. * FFXI is an MMORPG, most of which is designed for medium and high-level characters. If you don’t like a slow start, FFXI is probably not for you. This game takes a long time to learn, and there isn’t a lot to do before you hit Lv.10, or even 20. On the other hand, there are so many different ways to go about doing things it can be a little overwhelming. Macros, for example. If you want to chain together a bunch of abilities, spells, timings, or chats, macros are a great way to go about doing things, but we’ll get to that later. Level Zero * Before you can even start the game, you’re given a wide variety of choices in which to create your character. There aren’t as many choices as other games, but the ones that are there, are generally nicer-looking. When you hit the character creation screen, your first option is to pick a race. Races * First and foremost, race should be the absolute last thing to worry about when creating a character. No race has any abilities or traits other races don’t have. The only difference is a minor difference in stats, which can easily be made up by equipment. By level 75, the extremes in stats may be as high as 13 apart, which can be usually made up by one or two pieces of equipment. Because every job requires a number of stats, your race determines more how the job is played as opposed to how well it plays the job. For example, Galka and Elvaan damage-dealers have a higher per-hit damage than others and tend to take less damage when hit, while Mithra and Tarutaru have impressive accuracy, unleashing more precise weapon skills and dodging hits directed at them. * Hume have very general, well-rounded stats. They look like humans, and generally reflect human behavior and temperament. Humes can play any job very well, but won’t excel in any aspect of any job. This just means that they can adapt to the various aspects of any job easier than other races. It’s a great race for people who don’t know what they want to play as yet, or just like to be well-rounded. * Elvaan have the highest strength and mind in the game, but lower intelligence, agility, and dexterity. They also have great vitality and HP, but lower MP. Elvaan play as very strong, durable characters. They make palpable front-line fighters, and durable mages. Elvaan are a tall race with pointy ears and generally ‘chiselled’ stature. They are very noble and are strong in their beliefs. * Tarutaru appear child-like of stature, but don't let that fool you. These little people have incredible MP and intelligence, as well as quite high agility and dexterity, but the lowest vitality and HP in the game, and quite low strength and mind. Tarutaru play very powerful mages and unexpectedly capable damage-dealers. Tarutaru are generally very smart and possessed of mature temperaments. * Mithra have the highest dexterity and agility in the game, but low vitality and charisma. Their other stats are as well-rounded as a Hume's. Only the females fight, and as a result, males are a rare sight in the game. Mithra are cat-like, possessing tall ears and long, slender tails, and some sport tattoos on their faces. They play agile, artful front-liners and well-rounded mages. * Galka are enormous, brute fighters that look like big, furless bears. Galka have low MP and charisma, but make up for it by having the highest vitality and HP in the game, as well as high strength. Galka make very resilient characters all-around, being blatant damage-dealers and extremely survivable mages. Galka have no reproductive organs as a result of their reincarnation “reproduction”, but are referred to as males. * After you choose your race and gender, you are given the choice of hair color, and body size. Body size plays no role in any stats, making you slightly taller or smaller in comparison to others of the same race. After races, you are given the choice of six starter jobs. Six Starter Jobs * The second thing you do when you start off is choose a starting job. Though you can change your job at any time for no cost, your starting job determines which equipment you start off with, which does not shift when changing jobs after you have started. * Warrior: Damage-dealer or tank? You have to be prepared for both. The job whose abbreviation is “WAR”, they can dish-out and take damage equally. The Warrior is the game’s most effective meat-shield early in the game, and one of the basic damage-dealers later in the game. This class doesn’t get magic or overly-fancy moves, but it’s the best choice for a starting job for the front-line fighter. As a support job or as a main job, it can be most beneficial to a party. It's highly recommended you get an Axe and Shield, or a Great Axe, as soon as you can can. See How-To Guide: Warrior for more information. Starting as a Warrior will give you an Onion Sword. * Monk: One of the effective damage-dealers in the game, performing several hits at a time in most cases, especially later on. Even at lower levels the Monk is amazing, and easy to level. Monk combines enormous damage with moderate survivability; this doesn't necessarily mean the Monk can tank. Though Monk gets the highest HP and vitality in the game, it suffers with less of an armor choice. Hand-to-hand weapons are not immediately necessary for the Monk, but will significantly increase your damage per hit (as well as your delay between attacks). See How-To Guide: Monk for more information. Starting as a Monk will give you a White Belt. * White Mage: The predominant healer in the game, possessing the best 'Party Friendly' spells. At any level, a White Mage is sought for in parties. The White Mage class is often used as a sub-job for numerous MP-possessing classes. White Mage is a difficult job for a beginner to master, but it pays off in the end. Eventually, you get Teleport spells and numerous other spells no other job receives. White Mages should focus on spells over anything else, but having appropriate gear, (and weapons for soloing,) can really help things move more smoothly. See How-To Guide: White Mage for more information. Starting as a White Mage will give you a Scroll of Cure and an Onion Rod. * Black Mage: Few can escape the ineffable power of a Black Mage. The Black Mage delivers powerful damage-dealing spells. Black Mage gets an enormous number of elemental and enfeebling spells that, in general, far surpass the power of anything else. Whether you’re Lv.1 or Lv.75, you’ll be out-doing a lot of your allies. This does come with a price, however. In exchange for Black Mage’s amazing power, it is quite frail, and physically weak, leading to very difficult soloing early on, and making a monster’s attention quite hazardous. When it comes to gear, Black Mages should buy their spells before anything else. See How-To Guide: Black Mage for more information. Starting as a Black Mage will give you a Scroll of Stone and an Onion Staff. * Red Mage: The “Jack of all Trades”. Red Mage gets a large variety of spells from both the White and Black schools of magic. However, this versatility leads to a weaker proficiency in either than that of a White or Black Mage. Red Mage also gets unique spells of its own, making it one of the most sought out healers or support party members in the game. Their magic shines best when it comes to enfeebling targets and enhancing their team mates. They are also more proficient with armors and weapons (particularly Daggers and Swords) than most mages, giving them an easier time when soloing. How-To Guide: Red Mage for more information. Starting as a Red Mage will give you a Scroll of Dia and an Onion Dagger. * Thief: Thief isn’t really a “thief” per se. The Thief is more of an assassin. In parties, the Thief is generally a main puller and a support-role job. They make sure the monster’s attention is on the tank. At lower levels partying can be challenging, as the Thief does not gain its most iconic ability, Sneak Attack, until Level 15. Once they attain Lv.15, and again at Lv.30, things change and Thief becomes remarkably capable (and a lot more fun).How-To Guide: Thief for more information. Starting as a Thief will give you an Onion Knife. * After you choose your starting job, you move on to naming your character. When choosing a name, you are limited to alphabetical characters, with the letter capitalized and the rest lower case. Furthermore, it cannot have any profanity in it. However, since your name can be up to fifteen character long, you are still capable of creating an enormous variety of names. If you can’t think of one, the game has a random name selection function. These names are specific to, and typical of, your race and gender. For example, a Hume may get something like Brutus or Hortense while an Elvaan may get something like Jyraneux or Amaura. Tarutaru have interesting names that are generally two words. Since it’s condensed to one word, you may get something like Naikopaneiko (Naiko-Paneiko) for a male or Napupu for a female. Mithra may also use paired names when referring to each other. You might get a name like Rohhapuh (Roh Hapuh). Galka generally have paired words for their names, such as Rising Bull, which would result in Risingbull. Additionally, if you want a name from a different race, you can go back and forth through the character creation process without your name resetting. * After you pick a name, you’re given the option of which world you would like to start in, or to use a Gold World Pass given to you by a friend. A Gold World Pass will give both you and your friend some interesting items as time progresses. * Finally, you choose your starting nation. You are by no means obligated to stay in that nation for the rest of your career, and can change allegiance almost whenever you want, for a small fee. Each nation has its own feel and culture. You can talk to and party with anyone regardless of nation, so it’s personal preference. *If your character's race matches the predominant race of your starting nation, you will receive a ring that may help you a little bit. However, the ring can be acquired through play later on if you do not start with it. It is possible to eventually acquire the rings of more than one nation. Three Starting Allied Nations *The Kingdom of San d’Oria * Many players start in this area, as it the classic 'medieval' feel to it. Monetary income is generally on par with leveling speed here, so beginners should find it fairly easy to get started. Just remember to find help early on, verify where you’re going, and what you’re doing. Before you leave the Kingdom, remember to get Signet. Be careful of the Orcs, as they will attack you on sight, and they can link together to attack as a group. It's a good idea to begin with worms and rabbits until Lv.5, and then everything that checks “Decent Challenge” or lower until Lv.9-10. Afterwards, head through La Theine Plateau to Valkurm Dunes and look for a party. Every nation has a line of beginner tutorial quests. You can find the walkthroughs for San d’Oria’s here. Elvaan starting in San d'Oria begin with a San d'Orian Ring. *The Republic of Bastok * The industrious city of Bastok is a place of power and might. Stone Eaters just outside Bastok’s walls, or Tunnel Worms inside the Zeruhn Mines are good for gaining fast experience points. Be sure to not run too far away from them or they'll cast spells on you. Beware the Quadav, for these large, turtle-like creatures become aggressive if you go near them, and may attack in groups. Beware also that, unlike Orcs or Yagudo, Quadav detect you by the noise you make, so sneaking behind them won't work - however, they also can't hear you from as for as the other Beastmen can see you. Remember to get Signet, to participate in your nation’s conquest, as well as get some crystals. To get to Valkurm when you hit Lv.9-10, travel north through the west section of North Gustaberg to Konschtat Highlands, then keep heading north to Valkurm Dunes. Every nation has a line of beginner tutorial quests. You can find the walkthroughs for Bastok’s here. Hume and Galka starting in Bastok begin with a Bastokan Ring. *The Federation of Windurst * Vana’diel’s Federation is often considered the most beautiful of the three areas to start in. However, the monsters in these areas may be challenging for Lv.1 through Lv.10. On the other hand, due to longer leveling times, large areas, and rarer drops, Windurst may well be the best area to start in for money. Silk Thread from Crawlers, and Beehive Chips from Bees, both sell for a pretty penny in stacks on the Auction House. Bees are safest for early levels, as Mandragoras can use some dangerous techniques. Remember to get Signet before you leave town- it’s free, and it lets you get conquest points and crystals, both capable of boosting your gil. Avoid attacking Crawlers unless you know you can take them. Poison Breath without Poisona or an Antidote on hand may well take you down by itself. Also beware the Yagudo; though not at war with the Windurstians, they still attack you on sight. They also link together and team up. The trip to Valkurm from Windurst at Lv.10 is somewhat difficult. You need to get through Sarutabaruta, Tahrongi Canyon and Buburimu Peninsula to get on a ship (costs 100 gil). You'll arrive in the port town of Selbina, which takes you to Valkurm. Set your home point when you get there! Every nation has a line of beginner tutorial quests. You can find the walkthroughs for Windurst’s here. Tarutaru and Mithra starting in Windurst begin with a Windurstian Ring. *No Matter Where You Start… :*Goblins are in all three areas, and they will aggro and link the same way Orcs and Yagudo do. :*Doing the tutorial for a nation will really help you learn the ropes. :*You should be able to find help from players throughout the game and in all three areas. :*The first three missions are doable before Lv.10, so there's no reason to wait before starting them. :*Learn the game before you go venturing out. Remember to always /check your targets before you engage. :*Get Signet whenever you leave a city. It will allow monsters to drop crystals and will also give you valuable Conquest Points. It is a very good idea to spend your first 500~2,000 Conquest Points and spending it on an experience points band, as an 'XP Band' will make the levels go faster (especially 5-15). ::*The Chariot Band is best for adventurers who hunt XP in short bursts on a daily basis ::*The Empress Band is best for adventurers who hunt XP in medium intervals on a daily basis. ::*The Emperor Band is best for adventurers who hunt XP in long stretches on an occasional basis. :*When you’re running to Valkurm Dunes- in Tahrongi Canyon, La Theine Plateau, and Konschtat Highlands, you’ll see enormous cermet structures that have Telepoint Crystals of which you should pick up on your way for your first time. They allow Teleport-Mea, Teleport-Holla, and Teleport-Dem, respectively, be cast upon you. Gameplay Mechanics There’s Something About That “Aggro” 'Aggro' is commonly used in two ways, one proper, one improper but often used anyways. It's first, proper use is to describe the way a monster notices and attacks you. Whether you’re level 1 or level 75, there will be some monsters that will attack you. If the monster doesn’t /check “Too Weak To Be Worthwhile” - even if they do, when you're resting - they might aggro you. What each enemy aggros to is typically noted within each Bestiary entry on this Wiki. Common methods of detection are as follows: * Sight: The enemy will detect you if you are within 15 yalms, inside the enemy's "field of vision," and not Invisible. :* This "field of vision" is approximately 60-75 degrees from the direct front of the enemy, and can be avoided by walking around or behind the monster. :* The faint inner circle on the radar is at about 15 yalms. * Sound: The enemy will detect you if you are within 8 yalms of it and not Sneaked. :* Sound aggro is detected in all directions. As such, walking behind the enemy will not avoid aggro to sound. :* The Ninja Job Trait Stealth and the Ranger Job Trait Alertness can occasionally reduce detection to sound-aggroing enemies. * Magic: The enemy will detect you if magic is cast within 20 yalms of it (counted from where you are standing; the position of the target does not matter). :* Magic aggro is detected in all directions. :* Spells that do not cost MP will not cause magic aggro. As such, Ninjutsu and Bard songs are safe to use. :* The outer circle on the (non-Ninja) radar is at about 20 yalms. * Low HP/"Blood": The enemy will detect you if your HP color is yellow, orange, or red while within 20 yalms of it. :* Blood aggro is detected in all directions. Aggro in Terms of Hate * As previously mentioned, aggro is often used with a second meaning. This second variety is properly referred to as Enmity, or hate, which is to say how much a monster hates you and therefore how much it wants to kill you. Everything you do in combat generates enmity. Attacks generate enmity, curing someone involved in combat (this includes magic) generates enmity, using anything on yourself generates enmity, even resting where the monster can see you. It's difficult to tank without the use of the Job Ability that Warriors get called “Provoke”, or abilities provided by certain Advanced Jobs. Provoke provides a large amount of enmity to the user, useful only if you want to get hit. If you are not a tank, you want to perform your task without getting too much of the monster’s attention. Enmity is categorized into two sub-categories: cumulative and volatile, but you don't need to worry about the difference early on. See Enmity for more details when the information provided here is no longer sufficient. Tactical Points, Weapon Skills, Skillchains, and Magic Bursts * Assuming you’ve been playing for at least a little while at this point, I’m sure you’ve noticed the third bar beneath your MP on the top left-hand corner of the screen. Those are your Tactical Points (or TP), which you gain every time you hit a monster or are hit by one yourself. This gauge will go all the way up to 300%, but you usually won’t let it pass more than 100%. Once you get a weapon proficiency to Lv.5, you will get a Weapon Skill. These can be used every time your TP gauge hits 100% or higher and will deal very high amounts of damage in place of a free hit. In a party, you can combine Weapon Skills into Skillchains, which will deal extra damage and open up a monster for a Magic Burst. For an example, using Fast Blade and then Raging Axe, you will create the Skillchain “Detonation” which is a wind element Skillchain. Skillchains will only happen when Weapon Skills are timed about 3 seconds apart (+/- 1 second due to lag). Summoner Blood Pacts and at higher levels a Blue Mage’s spells can also be used in Skillchains. Magic Bursts will increase the accuracy and damage of the next spell, and if you use an enfeebling spell, it will often last longer. These are achieved through spells cast shortly after a skillchain. After the skillchain’s animation, you have about five seconds to cast a spell of the skillchain’s element to get the full effect of the burst. Valkurm Dunes * This is where Final Fantasy XI becomes a true MMORPG. You have to party to go anywhere, and fights last a lot longer than when you were soloing. Every party should have a few essential things: one or two tanks, one or two healers, and two or more damage-dealers. This is only a guide, feel free to do whatever you want, but that is how things should go until about Lv.18 or so. After 18, it’s best to have two tanks, two damage-dealers, one healer, and one nuker or support-role job like Red Mage, Bard, or Corsair. Fighting in parties is simple, yet complicated. It’s a step-by-step phase, that once learned can be really fluid. Once everyone is ready and able to fight, the puller (usually a Ranger, Thief, or Samurai) will head out and pull a monster. Hopefully the puller will only get one target, but if that isn’t the case then you should probably run away. ALWAYS make sure your party knows you’re running away, and don’t do so if the rest of your party thinks they can take it. Assuming you only get one monster, like a Lizard (standard Lv.10-12 monsters), everyone engages battle and begins wailing away. Usually right at the beginning of the fight, the tank (Warrior, Paladin, or Ninja) will use Provoke to get spike enmity and hopefully keep hate until the end of the fight. All of the damage-dealers consistently attack, and the healers keep everyone healed. Often times in very early levels, the White Mage won’t be able to keep up healing, and a secondary Provoke will have to be used. If the White Mage runs out of MP, or HP control is getting out of hand, fellow mages will often use cures to help him or her out. If the party is lucky, everyone attacking the monster will have enough TP to use a weapon skill, and if used in the proper order, initiate a skillchain, which can then be magic burst onto by a mage. This will often take a monster of that level down 25-50% HP, so only use a skillchain when you don’t think it will be a waste. During the course of the fight, the monster will use special skills of its own. These will range from area attacks (Bomb Toss, Fireball, etc), to single-target attacks (Goblin Rush, Tail Blow, etc), to status effects (Plaguebreath, Baleful Gaze, etc). Each of which are going to put the White Mage on his toes in one way, shape, or form. Usually when a monster is 25% or less HP, they will use their attacks whenever they get the chance to. Goblin Bomb Tosses are usually based on their current HP and how much TP they’ve accumulated. Though sometimes they drop their bomb on accident and kill themselves while dealing only minimal damage to the party. When you do kill the monster, it will say who finished it, how much experience you’ve acquired, how much money you’ve acquired (usually not a lot if any at all), and what items if any the party found. Please note that you will not get the item immediately. In order to do so, remember to ASK YOUR PARTY, then go into the Treasury and lot for the item you want. Most of the time, the party just lets it go wherever because it’s too much effort for everyone who wants an item to lot the item. Typically, those who don’t want the item will instead pass the item. Defeat * Sometimes someone may slip-up and you, someone else, or even the entire party can end up unconscious. You lose 10% of your maximum experience when you are knocked-out, so you don’t want that to happen to you. The amount lost decreases to 8% when you hit level 20, and the amount lost maximizes at 2400 later on. If you ever get enough money, buy a bed and put it in your Mog House. It will reduce the amount of experience lost when you re defeated. If a White Mage, Red Mage, Scholar, or Paladin happens to pass you while you’re laying there lifeless, oftentimes, they will Raise you, giving you back 50% of your lost exp and letting you continue where you left off. When you are risen, your health and magic will both be at about 10% of their usual maximum for about 3-5 minutes by an irreversible force called Weakness. In those minutes early in the game, chances are you could have made double the exp that you lost. However, later in the game, that’s not the case, as your lost exp can mean up to 2,400 experience lost. Raise II and Raise III will both raise you like normal, but will restore 75% and 90% of your lost exp back respectively. However, they will only act as Raise I in terms of restored exp until you hit Lv.50 and above. If you’re in Valkurm Dunes, your best bet is to go back to your Home Point and run back, as it will save a lot of time. And don’t be afraid to die for the sake of others. If you’re a Warrior and you die saving a White Mage, they and your whole party will thank you for it. As the phrase goes, “The tank should be the first one to die.” Meaning, if you don't die first and you are the tank, try and step it up. Making Money * Final Fantasy XI has an unfathomable number of ways to make money, even for beginners. However, this does not mean it’s easy to do. Prices will always be incredibly high for newcomers and even medium-level players. So you want to know how to make money? * Fishing is probably one of the most profitable yet boring things in all of FFXI to do in early levels. I’m not sure what it’s like on your servers, but where I come from, Moat Carp make for great profit. Find yourself a Carbon Fishing Rod and some Insect Paste, and fish away! It takes a while to get used to it, but don’t give up. It’ll be worth it when you head into Valkurm with a full set of Scale armor and a Bee Spatha +1. * Gardening is my personal favourite way to get money, but that’s because I’m lazy. It’s not the most profitable thing in the world, but you can do that and several other things at once if you play your cards right. The little Saplings you see jumping around can be killed for seeds. Plant the seeds, wait a little while, and before you know it, you’ll be ready to harvest. * Farming. The most common way of making money and the best way for Thieves to make their dough. Farming is a word used for going outside and killing everything in sight for their drops and/or money. In reality, they should have called it “Mugging”, but whatever. Stack your items in 12 if they can stack, then sell your finds on the Auction House. Most items don’t go below 1,000g per stack (or each if they can’t stack). Sometimes crystals can be worth a lot, too. It’s best just to stick to one type of monster to kill and get their drops, that way you don’t intimidate even more beginner players. Beehive Chips, Crystals, Silk Threads, and other things like that sell very well over the Auction House. * Crafting is a way for the rich to become richer. You need a lot of cash to get this started, but once the profit starts rolling in, it’s incredible. This way of making money takes time, dedication, and like I said, money. It’s best not to try anything on your own because of how many recipes there are. Look on the Crafting part of this site to learn more. * Teleporting, though White Mage exclusive, can make loads of cash in a short amount of time depending on what time it is. When you get to Lv.36, Lv.38, and Lv.42, you get Teleports that can save people a lot of time from running around. Don’t forget to set your Home Point in Jeuno or Whitegate and have Warp with your Black Mage support job! * There are a ton of other things you can do like hunt Notorious Monsters for their very rare drops, or doing Burning Circles, which are at the cost of accumulated Beastmen Seals. * Retrace, while not as affective as teleporting, can raise alot more money with one spell. You have to have Black Mage level 55, you can cast the spell. Sit around Whitegate for about 2-4 hours and you can make a ton of money. Leveling Up * From day one until you quit, you’ll be leveling up at one time or another. There are several things you should know about it. When soloing, make sure you /check your monsters before you engage. Always remember to rest when your HP and MP get low and you don’t think you can take on another monster without even the slightest risk of losing. As a mage, you want to pick up as many spells as you can. Until about Lv.10, you won’t have to worry about every single spell. You will also have a much more difficult time soloing if you are a mage. Find a friend and party with them if you can. I’ll get into that in a bit. As a melee, you’ll be killing things fast if you have the right weapons. If you start off as Warrior, do yourself a favour and go Axe/Shield as you’ll be tanking and Axes are the best damage over time weapons for Warrior. As Monk, go with Hand-to-Hand weapons, and as Thief, either go Sword or Hand-to-Hand early on. * I recommend one thing for everyone when they level up. If you know what job you want to play as, this is how you could go about doing it. Level up your first job that you will use as your main support job’s support job to 18, then get the ability to use a support job. Then, level your main’s support job (assuming it’s not one of the advanced jobs) to 37 with your previously levelled job as your sub at 18 since support jobs are always half of your main. Then, level your main job to 75. For example, someone wanting to level Summoner as a main job. Level their Black Mage to 19, allowing for Warp and a support job. Then level White Mage to 38, getting the first five Teleports. Then, get Summoner and level it to 75. Simple, yet very effective. Many people find it frustrating to party with people with under-leveled support jobs, especially if it is off by a lot. Advanced Jobs No matter what race you choose, or what job you leveled to 30+ first, you can pick from any advanced job after you hit 30 as any job. Even though they are called “Advanced”, they are no better by any means than the original six. Advanced jobs generally have lower stats but better abilities and traits than the main six. That’s why most of the time you will see Advanced jobs subbing Starter jobs, for example Samurai/Warrior or Summoner/White Mage. It’s all a preference, though. If you like Warrior, take it to 75. When I was levelling White Mage, I took it to 30 expecting to level Summoner, but I loved White Mage so much, I took that up instead. The unfortunate aspect of Advanced jobs is that you have to do a quest to get them done. :* Some you can do solo as soon as you hit Lv.30 with ease: DRK, BST, BRD, RNG, SCH, DNC :* Some you can do with a little help when you hit Lv.30: PLD, COR, BLU, PUP :* Some are just a little harder than others: SMN, DRG, NIN, SAM All of them are great jobs, and if you want to level it, don’t let the difficulty of the job quest discourage you. It’ll be worth it in the end. *Paladin is the chivalrous tank in the game. It is the best tank at both keeping enmity and keeping damage low over time. It uses healing magic on top of a slew of defensive abilities to hold hate and help the healers out. See my guide for Paladins to learn more. *Dark Knight is one of the best damage-dealers in the game. It gets some of the most ferocious attacks and abilities, and even some black magic to seal the deal. This job sacrifices defense for pure attack, and has several abilities to help it deal unbelievable amounts of damage in short periods of time. See my guide for Dark Knights to learn more. *Beastmaster is a great solo job for those who like to go it alone. If you like the job and want to party, it can be a formidable damage-dealer as well. Calling upon the thousands of beasts in Vana’diel, Beastmaster gets its powerful allies to help it in battle. See my guide for Beastmasters to learn more. *Bard is one of the best jobs for parties. Bard plays music to enhance the abilities of all of its allies, making them stronger and enhancing the overall use of every other party member. Since these enhancements are so prominent, Bards are accepted to parties left and right. Just don’t expect much of an ability to solo. See my guide for Bards to learn more. *Ranger is another one of the best damage-dealers in the game. With guns, bows, crossbows, and all of those other abilities, Rangers tower over the battlefield with some of the highest damage over time in the game. Ranger gets amazing job abilities and a ton of accuracy to make sure every shot counts. See my guide for Rangers to learn more. *Samurai mix their impeccable power as damage-dealers with a ton of survivability. Samurai use their weapon skills far more often than other jobs, since they actually have some of the neatest traits and abilities in the game, allowing them to get tactical points faster than any other job. Through this, they hone their skills with the two-handed Great Katana. See my guide for Samurai to learn more. *Ninja is a very stealthy and quick job. Despite its great potential for damage-dealing, pulling, and enfeebling abilities, Ninja is often called to be a tank, using the spell Utsusemi. Utilizing this spell, Ninjas become nearly untouchable tanks! Though they do not require the same curing power to keep alive as a Paladin, they get far less enmity control. See my guide for Ninjas to learn more. *Dragoon is a very well-rounded damage-dealer, combining huge TP gain, high damage, and the best enmity control out of every single damage-dealer. Dragoons can call a pet wyvern to fight by their side and help them deal even more damage. On top of all of this, Dragoons can leap great heights and come down, decimating their enemies. See my guide for Dragoons to learn more. *Summoner controls the gods to do its bidding. Summoner possesses the highest MP pool out of every job in the game, and even has a perpetual “Refresh” trait that continuously rejuvenates its MP. Summoners perform trials to defeat the gods in combat, then can use them to do some powerful attacks. Summoner is generally used as a main healer in parties, despite all of this. See my guide for Summoners to learn more. *Corsair is a support-role job very similar to Bard. Corsair is a pirate that uses the power of six-barrelled guns and the luck of the dice to combine both damage and luck-based enhancements to the party. Corsair’s abilities vary with whatever jobs are in the party, and can increase a lot of stats even far higher than Bard can. See my guide for Corsairs to learn more. *Blue Mage uses monster spells against them. Nearly every monster in the entire game teaches Blue Mage at least one spell, which can be set to deal some extraordinary feats. No job in the game has the extreme versatility of Blue Mage, allowing it to tank, damage-deal, heal, nuke, enfeeble, and play as a downright support-role job. See my guide for Blue Mages to learn more. *Puppetmaster changes things up a little bit. Instead of the master being the powerhouse, and the pet being a little support, Puppetmaster and its Automaton share the roles 50/50. Puppetmasters customize their automaton into performing almost any role in any scenario. *Scholar combines the use of both White Magic and Black Magic to their fullest. Unlike Red Mage, it does not get to use a whole bunch of spells on its own, but instead digs deep inside itself and uses powerful stratagems to level the playing field with effects that allow them to switch between both arts of magic. Scholar requires a lot of strategy in how to go about doing things. See my guide for Scholars to learn more. *Dancer is another job that can fulfill many roles in a party scenario. Dancer can tank, deal damage, heal, and perform a wide variety of enfeebles that no other job can. All of this, without using a single MP. Instead of consuming magic, Dancer actually consumes TP to perform its vast array of abilities. See my guide for Dancers to learn more. Macros Whenever you press Ctrl or Alt, you will see a bar of buttons across the top of the screen. These are your macros. Macros are used as a faster means of doing things like telling your party that you have 100% TP or are running low on MP. Even though this is in the macro section, all of these can be used in normal chat. Every macro has its own page. At the very top of the page you have your macro title. It can consist of a few letters and numbers, but no spaces or symbols. Make it simple like “Voke” for a Provoke macro. The next six lines are for the macro in order from top to bottom. Following are a list of things you can put in the macros: * - Tells the party your HP in a fractional notation. * - Tells the party your HP in a percent. (Both of these usually go in the same macro) * - Tells the party your pet’s HP in a percent assuming you have a pet. * - Tells the party your MP in a fractional notation. * - Tells the party your MP in a percent. (Like HP, usually goes in the same macro) * - Only applies to Puppetmasters, really. Telling the party your pet’s MP. * - Tells the party your Tactical Points in a percentage. * - Tells the party your pet’s Tactical Points in a percentage. * - (# = 1-21) Sends a noise to everyone in the party, often annoying if repeated. :*Calls are useful for drawing attention to a particular line of text, such as a pull or weapon skill. * - Your current target. * - Your party’s current target. (ie: the monster with a red name above it) * - You. * - Your position in a grid scale. * - Your last target. * - Targets your party list, which allows you to target up and down through names and bypasses equipment blinking and lag problems. * Targets your alliance list, which allows for the same thing as . * Targets your Adventuring Fellow, should you have one. * Targets your pet, should you have one. * Replaced with your main job level and abbreviation. Ex: 24BLU * Replaced with your sub-job level and abbreviation. Ex: 12RNG There are other things you can put into your macros that do things other than tell your party your current status: */s - Say chat, heard by anyone in the immediate vicinity. “/s Goodbye!” */p - Party chat. Used first on the macro. “/p I have to go to the bathroom.” */t name - Tell chat. “/tell Playername I have to go to the bathroom.” */l - Linkshell chat, assuming you have one. “/l I have to go to the bathroom.” */sh - Shout chat. Tells everyone in the area. “/sh Sorry for shouting.” */echo - Self-chat. Only you can see it. Any auto-translations lose the green and red brackets. The way you execute commands and such use a similar function to the different chats. All things with a slash in front of them have to be used at the very front of the macro. Macros such as this cannot have anything after it. */wait # - Used to wait between spells or job abilities for timing purposes (in seconds) (# = 1-60). */magic - Used to cast magic. (/magic “Spell Name” Target) */ja - Job abilities (/ja “Job Ability” Target) */ws - Weapon Skill (/ws “Weapon Skill” Target) */equip - Used to equip things (/equip Slot “Item Name”) Here is an example of a macro for Sneak Attack and Trick Attack with Viper Bite: *Title: WS *Line1: /party Using SATA + Viper Bite *Line2: /ja “Sneak Attack” *Line2: /wait 1 *Line3: /ja “Trick Attack” *Line4: /wait 1 *Line5: /ws “Viper Bite” What this macro will do is first tell the party that you are using SATA-VB, and they will notice it because of the Call. As that is happening, you will use Sneak Attack. One second later, you will use Trick Attack. One more second after that, you will use the Weapon Skill “Viper Bite” and it will be complete. Auto Translator *FFXI was meant for all ages all around the world. For that to happen, they had to install some sort of translation device so everyone could talk to each other even if they didn’t know the first thing about the other party’s language. It’s very, very simple to use. Simply start typing a word (or type the whole thing), then press Tab. This will give you a choice of different things to say to other people. However, it will not work with spaces, so if you’re looking for “Thank you” just type “Thank” and then press Tab. The Auto Translator houses thousands of phrases, spells, abilities, and every job, race, and things like that. All things within green and red parentheses will be translated to everyone in whatever chat you use. Use this when in a Japanese party or are shouting for help. For example: :*/shout {Teleport-Dem} {Can I have it?} {Reward:} 2000 {money} In Closing This guide is meant to be an easy-access source for anyone willing to learn about the early and mid-game. This is where I specialize in. Now, I may have forgotten to put a large portion of information in there. So if you have any further questions about FFXI, please feel free to contact this article's editors. They may be willing to help you get started both on the wiki and in-game. See Also